(I had been sitting on this post for a while and had actually forgotten about it, until I read Zel's post yesterday regarding Cauldrons.)

Like many guilds, my raiding team has unlocked the awesome Cauldron of Battle (reward from completing the Mix Master guild achievement) and I now churn out these lovely Flask receptacles each raid night. We also have the Guild Perk Chug-A-Lug, which increases the duration of Cauldron Flasks by 50% (1.5 hours instead of 1 hour).

The Cauldron only creates 7 Flasks (until we reach guild level 20 and get Happy Hour) so that leaves 3 people cold, unloved and Flask-less.

FURTHER complicating matters is the fact that when used by Alchemists, Flasks of Battle last for THREE hours instead of 1.5 hours (due to Mixology) and we have three Alchemists in our raid team. Usually.

So who uses the Flasks from the Cauldrons and who uses normal ones - the Alchemists or the non-Alchemists? And is it actually better to simply drop three Cauldrons and make 21 Flasks of Battle, even though that means there's extras?

Disclaimer: These numbers are based off a few assumptions. If these traits are different from your guild or server, then I have no idea if the math is correct for you.

Quick Answers:
• It's better to drop 3 Cauldrons instead of 2. (Costs less Flasks & the extra Cauldron Flasks can always be used after the raid or for mid-raid role switching, such as single-tank fights)
• It's better to have Alchemists use a regular flask instead of a Cauldron Flask.

Leftover time isn't always a bad thing. I often have time leftover, and I just log out straight after the raid and don't log in on that character until the next raid. But then, my raiding characters don't really need to be doing heroics, and I have other characters I can play if I want to hang out, be sociable, or whatever.

Additionally, I think non-guilded people might get 1.5 hour long cauldron flasks as long as their guild has the associated perk. I haven't been able to confirm this yet though.

Another thing to think about is that sometimes the guild cauldron benefit isn't the best thing for the player's spec, or the player will be swapping specs between fights. For my prot paladin, until 4.2 nerfs agility the agility buff is the best thing for Halfus heroic and Chimaeron. So I pass on the cauldron buff and use my own. I suspect that there are other class/specs/playstyles out there that have the same thing.

@Mittenz - Oh, I regard leftover time as a good thing - I mean, all other things being equal, I'd rather have an hour left on my flask after raid than no time! Can do a Zulroic, or like you said, save it for next raid night.

@Anon 1 - Swapping specs can be a problem normally, which is why the 3-cauldrons method is so great. Those extra flasks are perfect for role-swapping. As for the Agi flask being best, that's true, sometimes there are specific cases where the conventional flasking isn't ideal. Healers wanting +Spirit flasks, for example. Nothing we can really do about that for now, I guess.

@Anon 2 - That is a very good point. I have added an additional note in the assumptions about having Mix Master, Chug-A-Lug, but not Happy Hour yet.